Kanelis: Day on the beat proves humbling

I am blessed by being reared by parents who cared for me every day and by marrying the girl of my dreams and bringing two fine young men into the world; I've been blessed by being able to travel through much of this country (45 states) and see some of the rest of the world (13 foreign lands); I am blessed by a career that enables me to do something I truly love doing.

Today I am counting every one of those blessings and giving thanks for all I have and for dreams come true.

A day in an Amarillo Police Department patrol car with a 33-year-old officer, tooling around some truly rough neighborhoods, has given me a new appreciation for the good fortune that has blessed my life.

It was a thrilling and humbling day.

I rode with Officer Sean Slover, a six-year APD veteran. Slover grew up in Amarillo, married his "best friend" and entered police work after a brief career in retail sales. He said he would try just once to get accepted into the police academy; if he failed, he'd go on to something else.

Slover made the grade and is patrolling north Amarillo, primarily through the Heights area.

We didn't run flat-out, with lights flashing and siren blaring. Slover didn't shoot it out with bad guys in a ferocious firefight. He didn't get into a fistfight with a drunken or doped-up slob.

Still, it was a busy day that included:

Arresting a young man on drug-possession charges after another officer took a second man into custody on a variety of traffic warrants. Slover booked the young man, who he caught trying to sneak out the back yard, into the Potter County Detention Center.

Answering a call to a family disturbance that devolved into a confusing game of deception, with the officers trying to discern the identity of a young man involved in a dispute with his wife.

Responding to a report of a recovered stolen vehicle. Slover became exasperated when he learned that the woman whose vehicle was stolen had retrieved it from where she discovered it rather than calling the police right away.

Responding to a reported attempted burglary in which a man said someone tried to rip the screens off his windows.

Answering a call on Amarillo Boulevard about a public-sector employee who reportedly was being harassed by his estranged wife.

I learned many years ago while covering the "cop shop" about the hazard of using the word "routine" to describe police work. Routine traffic stop? There's no such thing.

"There's no real way to know what to expect in any situation," Slover said.

When police officers encounter an unexpected situation, he said, "You have to be able to fall back on your training, trust your instincts and trust your 'beat buddy's' instincts."

Was the day a total downer? Not by a long shot.

Slover waved cheerful greetings at pedestrians, children and adults alike, throughout the day as he cruised through the Heights. He chatted amiably with the gentleman who reported the attempted burglary, offering advice on how to secure his home.

However, I cannot get an image out of my mind. It is of a child, about 1 year old, who belonged to the young couple involved in the family disturbance mentioned earlier.

The baby's parents said she was ill and that they intended to take the baby to the hospital for emergency care. The young man delivered a profanity-laced description of his relationship with members of his wife's family.

The couple and their baby live in a squalid ramshackle apartment.

I understand poverty. I cannot accept filth.

Moreover, it is impossible to predict anything good happening to that sweet baby as she comes of age and grows into adulthood.

Maybe her life will blossom if she gets into a home where adults can provide the care she needs or her parents figure out how to get their lives in order. I'm betting mostly on the former circumstance, but I am not holding my breath.

Instead, my heart breaks for that child. And I give thanks for my own blessings.

John Kanelis is editorial page editor for the Amarillo Globe-News. He can be contacted at the Globe News, P.O. Box 2091, Amarillo, TX 79166, or via e-mail at john.kanelis@amarillonet.com. He is attending the 10th Amarillo Citizen Police Academy. Kanelis' column appears each Sunday.